Premeditated conspiracy or accident? Differences of opinion over what caused the death of 59 people, mostly kar sevaks, aboard the Sabarmati Express in 2002 have hinged on this fundamental question. In convicting 31 people in the Godhra train burning case on the twin counts of murder and criminal conspiracy, the Ahmedabad special court has upheld the broad thrust of the prosecution's contention, which is that the deaths were a result of a “pre-planned conspiracy” to set fire to the S-6 coach in which the victims were travelling. The theory that it was an “accidental fire” gained credence after the Justice U.C. Banerjee Committee, appointed by then Railway Minister Lalu Prasad, declared it as such in its preliminary report. It ruled out various other possible causes, including the possibility of the fire being caused by petrol poured into the bogey by miscreants. Although the Gujarat High Court subsequently ruled that the U.C. Banerjee Committee was “unconstitutional, illegal, and void,” the question remained whether forensic evidence would conclusively establish how the fire was caused. In arriving at its verdict, the trial court was evidently greatly influenced by the findings of the Gandhinagar Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL), which concluded that petrol was the cause of the fire and submitted evidence that was consistent with the police theory that the culprits had forcibly entered the S-6 coach via the vestibule.
Paradoxically, the court acquitted the main alleged conspirator, Maulana Umarji, for lack of evidence, even as it upheld the prosecution's case that the conspiracy to set fire to the coach carrying the kar sevaks was hatched the previous night at a guest house in Godhra town. The verdict, which saw the acquittal of as many as 63 accused, is bound to be challenged by both sides. It is unfortunate that a case like this, tried by a fast-track court, should have taken nine years to complete, all the more so because many of the 63 acquitted spent years in prison after being denied bail. In the popular imagination, the Godhra train burning will also evoke horrifying memories of the genocidal pogrom against Muslims that earned Gujarat notoriety across India and round the world. The complex verdict must be looked at independently, in strictly legal terms, and not through any coloured political lens; it must certainly not be allowed to be exploited by demagogues of any communal persuasion. Only when the 815-page judgment becomes available will legal experts be able to assess the merits of the verdict, including the evidential basis of the convictions. Given the time already taken, it is important that we have a just and final judicial pronouncement on the case as quickly as possible.
When we are talking about the acquitted people languishing in jail for 9 years, one shudders to think whether it is really end of the sufferings. What will happen if the state prefers an appeal to the higher courts. Nowhere else, the often repeated slogan, justice delayed is justice denied, becomes true than in this case. When there is no political will to address law and order issues or when you ignite and play with caste and religion politics, this is what happens. Political bigwigs and parties get away with the crime. But the hapless and gullible followers fall a prey to the devious designs. A few days back, there was a particular comment made to the effect that religious clashes have stopped after the Godhra incident, especially due to the enormous pressure put by the law officers, to book the culprits and make them pay for their sins. We really hope that these words come true, in the coming years and the gen next at least are rid of this malaise.
Justice delayed is justice denied. The cliche has still relevance. The nine long years the innocent lost in the prison can never be retrieved. The loss is not only for the victims. Their wards and dependents are also the sufferers. Passage of time cannot wash off the stains of Godhra carnage and the consequent pogram in the State, or for that matter cannot sweeten the hands of the perpetrators. The intolerance we manifest in our our community life reveals that we are still a primitive lot. Unless we reform ourselves, we cannot claim that we are the crown and glory of creation!
The communal frenzy that followed the Godhra train burning case and led to the worst communal riots in independent India's history had completely overshadowed the gross injustice done to the families of the victims of the tragedy traveling in the ill-fated train on the day of accident. Over the past nine years there have been repeated attempts by various political parties to give a political color to the tragedy for their narrow political interests. What serves as a true testimony to the pervert mindset of our politicians, they have shown no compunction in trying to make political capital from the deaths of hapless victims. What should have been a subject of transparent police enquiry and subsequent judicial pronouncements based on police investigation and forensic evidence was turned into a political game by our politicians. Now that the verdict has been delivered by the High court, it is necessary to view it dispassionately. Those who are not satisfied should adopt the constitutional route which is to appeal in the Supreme Court against the judgment. At no point should the political class or religious zealots should be allowed to fan communal passions based on the verdict and any such attempt should be actively thwarted by state administration and the public in general. Since this is a high profile case and has already taken nine long years to reach this stage during which all those fighting for justice have patiently waited, it is the responsibility of the Supreme Court to fast track the case as and when an appeal is filed. The wheel of the justice grinds slowly but it should not be so painfully sluggish that any verdict delivered amounts to justice denied.
It is quite ironical that in a case which is highly disputed till now and it would defnitely be challenged in apex court, a judgement and convictions have come but still for 1200 people killed in Gujrat pogrom there is no sign of hope yet. Although the judgement comes after long nine years but still 31 convictions are a thing to be proud off for Gujarat government which highly endorsed the theory of conspiracy. The government of Gujarat and national government should be ashamed of this. Cases like Bombay blasts of '93 and such as this one are being solved but the cases in which genocides happened and which were done in broad day light brazenly are nowhere to be seen to be concluded.
Godhra verdict still seems under the shadow of suspicion taking the verdict in the favour of -may be culprit ,only because there were no significat evidence to prove them guilty,is an entirely ham-handed decision.It also reflects loopholes in our judicial system, which takes control of world's largest following democracy.
When judgment differs ,the cause of the tragedy, irrespective of any circumstance, must not surface with adverse impact on communal harmony.Political figures,social activists, younger generation and media must be prompt enough to prevent simmering situation of fanatic activities.
With relation to incidents like Godhra and post Godhra riots the most important question is whether we as a civil society believe in taking revenge in a violent manner or we wish the law to take its own course. For latter to become a norm it is necessary to stengthen the Judiciary, Police administration etc so that penal action can be taken against the guilty in a defined time frame. Unfortunately, however, there is a sizeable section of 'intelluctuals' in the RSS pariwar as well as in the Muslim community who perhaps believe in 'life for life' philosophy and who would vehemently justify the killings of people of other community as a natural response to events like Babri Masjid demolition, Godhra train carnage etc. Therefore it is necessary for us to mature as a democracy and deal with all such communal violence in a civlised way.
There was a huge cacophony for the last 9 years that the Godhra incident and the Gujarat riots were not connected and that the Godhra incident needed to be looked into in isolation and also that the said incident was as a result of 'spontaneous combustion', a theory esposed by the then Railway minister Lalu Prasad and seconded by a wholly unconstitutional committed headed by Justice Banerjee. What the editorial as well as the 'intelligentsia' want to conveniently forget is that had there been no Godhra incident, there would not have been riots later. Now that the verdict has come in support of the conspiracy theory, a whole lots of NGO sponsored sound bites should be expected to come down unless or otherwise the said NGOs term the judgement also to be 'communally flavoured'. However It is true that the judgement has been delayed and therefore the acquitted persons have been handed out great injustice in terms of 9 years of their lives having been lost. This is an endemic problem plaguing the Indian judiciary and would need to be addressed at the national level on a war footing.
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